Tein Flex and/or KW V2 owners, feedback?

[Mo_GT]

I'm considering some coilovers now - main reason being the uneven way the car sits on just the Tein S Tech springs, every time i see the car side on i think to myself the front should be a bit lower... Have looked at some options to get this right but don't want to do any of it.

So, those who've had the Tein Flexs and or KW V2 for a while now, what do you think? Are they still comfy? Noise? Please also tell me what spring rates you have and also if you have the pillow ball tops or std rubber tops.

I'm leaning towards the Flex's with some soft springs and rubber top mounts - trying to keep the car as "comfy" as possible.

Thanks,
Mo

PS: Any WA pple with either of these? Would love your input.

[tangcla]

I have the KW V2, it's definitely softer and more comfortable than having lowered springs on stock shocks!

[Q]

Just bought some racecomp versions of the KW V2. Can't comment on what they are like as they haven't arrived yet! Hopefully they are what I'm looking for as I've been through a few suspension set ups with no success on this car trying to find a good compromise between handling and comfort. If ur keen I can post what I think of them when I get them in..

[ez30rb]

Can't speak for KW, but I've got the Flex's and they are nice and comfy, and damping can adjusted to suit your driving needs

[Mo_GT]

I have the KW V2, it's definitely softer and more comfortable than having lowered springs on stock shocks!

What springs did you have? And how low did you go with your KW's? What spring rates are on your KW's?

Thanks

[Mo_GT]

Just bought some racecomp versions of the KW V2. Can't comment on what they are like as they haven't arrived yet! Hopefully they are what I'm looking for as I've been through a few suspension set ups with no success on this car trying to find a good compromise between handling and comfort. If ur keen I can post what I think of them when I get them in..

Yes please, would love to hear yhow you find them. What other susp set ups have you had?

[Mo_GT]

Can't speak for KW, but I've got the Flex's and they are nice and comfy, and damping can adjusted to suit your driving needs

Do you know waht spring rates yours are?

Thanks

[Arith]

Are you tracking the car at all or this is purely just for street? The Tein Type Flex are rated at 6 front/6 rear, which provides a comfortable ride. Near the medium setting the ride is equivalent to stock, while you can go softer than stock at the low setting or a bit firmer if you wanted to. However if it's just for street, you can't go past the KW in terms of value as they'll get the job done for less money.

[teK--]

It's interesting that F/R rates are the same since the motion ratio is lower in the rear. So typically rear spring is higher rate in other setups I've seen.

E.g. Dave (vaccine) has the Flex as well but he put harder springs in rear and he said was much better.

[Mo_GT]

Are you tracking the car at all or this is purely just for street? The Tein Type Flex are rated at 6 front/6 rear, which provides a comfortable ride. Near the medium setting the ride is equivalent to stock, while you can go softer than stock at the low setting or a bit firmer if you wanted to. However if it's just for street, you can't go past the KW in terms of value as they'll get the job done for less money.

Hey Jim,
Its only for street use, prob won't see any track at all any time soon. Main reason i'm thinking of coilovers is so that i can get the car to sit how i want it to - front slightly lower than the back. Right now on the S techs the back is lower ( didn't you have the same issue?). I haven't priced up the KW or the Flexes yet but will do that this/ next week.

Thanks

[Arith]

Yup, my one and only reason for going coilovers is that I have control over the ride height. I'm very picky about how the car appears, and having the front higher than the back annoyed me to no end. In my previous rides, I wasted a whole bunch of money trying different spring brands promising this and that. None of them could get the ride height how I wanted it. Coilovers fulfill that, and I can adjust them up or down any time I want.

But I think the KW's should run cheaper than the Tein's. The only reason why I ask is that most people will tell you to go Teins if you plan to track the car. However if it's mainly for appearance and only for the street, a cheaper brand will do the job just fine as long as the spring rate's not too high.

[drndrn]

KW's cheaper than Tein's? Really?

I remembered getting told in the ball park of $3500 for KW v2's. THat was a retail price though.

Darren.

[Q]

Yes please, would love to hear yhow you find them. What other susp set ups have you had?

Standard struts with oem/king springs
Ohlins struts with oem/king springs
Bilstein HD struts with oem/king/eibach springs
Revalved Bilsteins with oem springs(cut front)

Ohlins were brilliant but valved a little too comfy and at the time couldn't get anyone to revalve them for less than an arm and two legs.
Have not been happy at all with the bilsteins. They have way too much high speed compression damping making for a less than comfortable/confidence inspiring ride. The revalve has helped alot but I'm not convinced on the suitability in this application. Looking forward to changing them out.

I've mixed and matched as well and I have stumbled upon a reasonably good combo involving front oem struts and bilstein rears. My oem front springs have half a coil cut off so they are running 15mm lower than standard (cutting springs isn't that bad if done with a bit of sense). The rear bilsteins have springs that are 20% heavier rate than oem and are at standard height. The handling difference when these heavier rate springs were installed was astounding and with the oem front struts there was no more of the crashing that the bilsteins do so well. This increase in spring rate in the rear and the positive effect over the standard handling had me concerned about the KW's and their 400/400 spring rate but after talking to a number of people running them my fears have gone.

KW should be here this week and I reckon after so many suspension changes I can have the old one's out and them installed within 90 mins

[Mo_GT]

KW's cheaper than Tein's? Really?

I remembered getting told in the ball park of $3500 for KW v2's. THat was a retail price though.

Darren.

One of the local KW dealers gave me a price of $2850 today - i was shocked!!! US prices are about US$1500ish !!!

Any of the vendors here deal with KW? Or is online the best option?

But Jim is right, the KW's are cheaper than the Tein Flex - if you look at online stores that carry both you'l find that the KW's are on average a couple of hundred cheaper.

[Mo_GT]

KW should be here this week and I reckon after so many suspension changes I can have the old one's out and them installed within 90 mins

Cool, hope you get it soon! Btw, why did you choose the Racecomp versions and not the KW's themselves? If i remember correctly the springs rates are a bit different and the valving too?